Angels rally for three in ninth to beat Blue Jays

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Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout gets high fives in the dugout after scoring on a single by Adrelton Simmons in the sixth inning of their AL baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, in Toronto on Saturday, July 29, 2017. (Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press via AP)

TORONTO — Troy Scribner saw his major-league debut turn from a loss to a win while he sat in the dugout.

The Angels scored three runs in the top of the ninth against All-Star closer Roberto Osuna, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Saturday afternoon.

“Amazing,” Scribner said, summarizing his first day as a major leaguer. “It was a ton of fun. I had a blast.”

Scribner gave up a tie-breaking two-run homer to Miguel Montero in his first big-league inning, but then he tacked on two scoreless innings to give his team time to come back.

With three game balls and a couple of lineup cards tucked away in his locker, Scribner could enjoy that his first major-league victory is now attached to a game that was a significant win for the Angels.

The three-game losing streak earlier in the week had begun to erode their position in the wild-card race, and they were just two outs away from losing again on Saturday.

With one out in the ninth, Kole Calhoun singled. Martin Maldonado was then hit by a pitch. Ben Revere, who had entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, lined an RBI double into right, cutting the deficit to 5-4. With runners at second and third, Osuna then uncorked a wild pitch that tied the game.

Cliff Pennington then hit a fly ball to shallow center. Kevin Pillar, the Blue Jays’ outstanding center fielder, threw the ball just up the first-base line, allowing Revere to slide home safely.

“The way we did it today was good,” Andrelton Simmons said. “It shows that the game’s not over for us until the last out is recorded.”

The Angels’ fourth victory when trailing after eight innings had some drama left in the bottom of the inning.

Bud Norris, in his first appearance since Tuesday’s meltdown in Cleveland, walked two hitters before inducing a game-ending double play.

“I wanted to get back out there after Cleveland,” Norris said. “I have been working on some things, staying over the rubber. I made it a little interesting, but I thought my stuff was pretty sharp.”

Norris walked two and was charged with an intentional walk before he gave up a grand slam on Tuesday in Cleveland. He said these walks were better pitches. More important, he overcame them to get the job done, saving the victory for Scribner.

A 26-year-old non-drafted free agent, Scribner reached the big leagues despite an unspectacular repertoire of pitches. His poise and makeup are two of the traits the Angels like best, an he demonstrated that by bouncing back from the homer to record seven more critical outs.

“I’ve given up a ton of home runs in my life,” he said. “I know exactly what it feels like and what it looks like. It took a minute to get comfortable out there, but after that I felt really good.”

Scribner picked up three innings after Yusmeiro Petit — a reliever making a spot start — had allowed just one unearned run in four innings, on 48 pitches. Manager Mike Scioscia said he’s still not sure if Petit will get another start.

Despite Petit’s strong outing, he would have taken the loss if the Angels’ hadn’t erased a 3-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth, two on a Simmons’ two-out single.

Turned out the Angels had one more comeback in them.

“It’s a huge lift,” Norris said. “We’re trying to build some momentum. That’s what it’s all about, trying to get these win streaks to keep it going. … I think we’re building some steam, and that’s going to be important for us.”

Jeff Fletcher has covered the Angels since 2013. Before that, he spent 11 years covering the Giants and A's and working as a national baseball writer. Jeff is a Hall of Fame voter. In 2015, he was elected chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.